Cincinnati, OH - Wages, Rent, Taxes & Livability by the Numbers

Cincinnati's value case is a spread, not a slogan. The metro's mean wage was $32.39 per hour in May 2025, below the U.S. mean of $33.54, while management, computer and math, healthcare, business and finance, and education and library roles ranged from $29.63 to $64.52 per hour. 1

Apartment List put Cincinnati's September 2025 median rent at $930 for a one-bedroom and $1,176 for a two-bedroom. Westwood ranged from $925 to $1,106, while Over-the-Rhine ranged from $2,014 to $3,126. The neighborhood figures are not perfectly comparable: the source reports ranges for those two areas and one-bedroom/two-bedroom medians for Mount Airy, Mount Auburn, and Northside. 2

The tax picture is mixed. Ohio's 2025 state income-tax brackets run from 0% to 3.125%, Cincinnati's local income tax is listed at 2.1%, and the typical Hamilton County sales-tax total is 7.80%. SmartAsset lists a 1.44% effective property-tax rate for Hamilton County, but the page does not state a tax year, so treat that figure as a reference point rather than a fresh 2025 estimate. 3 4 5 6

Mobility is neighborhood-dependent. Cincinnati's mean travel time to work was 22.4 minutes for 2020-2024, while the city averages 49 for Walk Score, 44 for Transit Score, and 36 for Bike Score. Metro service helps in the core, but the citywide numbers do not remove the need to test a specific home-to-work route. 7 8

U.S. News scores Cincinnati 5.2/10 overall, with a 7.2 value index and a 2.9 job-market index. That is the trade: cheaper housing can work well for remote workers and people with a strong local offer, but the city's weak job-market score and car-first mobility deserve a close look before moving. 9

Next city: Detroit, MI.